Barcelona's vote for the best jersey numbers: Messi leads MSN, Busquets out

FC Barcelona has officially launched a vote for the best players wearing jersey numbers 1 to 25 in the first 25 years of the 21st century, with one representative player for each number. The results are out, led by Messi, with all members of MSN included, Xavi and Iniesta also on the list. Busquets, along with Puyol and others, competed for the No. 5 spot but ultimately failed to make the cut.

The 25 players are as follows:

1 - Valdés, 2 - Alves, 3 - Piqué, 4 - Rakitić, 5 - Puyol, 6 - Xavi, 7 - Villa, 8 - Iniesta, 9 - Suárez, 10 - Messi, 11 - Neymar, 12 - Rafinha, 13 - Joan García, 14 - Henry, 15 - Keita, 16 - Fermín, 17 - Pedro, 18 - Alba, 19 - Yamal, 20 - Roberto, 21 - De Jong, 22 - Abidal, 23 - Koundé, 24 - Yaya Touré, 25 - Szczęsny

Voting Rules:

Barcelona's official selection included 100 players (who played for Barcelona from January 1, 2000, to December 31, 2025), divided into 25 numbers. That means four players competed for each number, with only one making it to the final best lineup.

According to the rules, a player must have spent the longest time wearing a specific number to be considered. For example, Cubarsi wore the No. 2 jersey last season and has only worn the No. 5 jersey for half a season so far. Another example is Messi, who only competed for the No. 10 spot.

No player could appear for two different numbers simultaneously. For instance, Busquets only competed for the No. 5 spot, even though he wore the No. 16 jersey for five years. All current players were included in the voting, regardless of their length of service at the club.